NL Ladycats On A Three Game Winning Streak

New London Ladycats hosted Mapleton High School on Saturday and defeated the Mounties 34-33.

Gabby Ledbetter led the Ladycats in scoring with 22 points.

Kiaya Thierry stated, “The Mapleton game was pretty good. We played a lot better than what we did the first time we played them. Offensively, for us we couldn’t get many shots to fall and I feel we did a pretty good job handling the pressure after we got it figured out. Our defense I felt was pretty good. It’s just the small things we have to fix and then we will be good.”

Megan Conrad commented, “The Mapleton game went well, it showed our team’s endurance. We kept up the whole game and managed to outlast their runs with our own runs and finished the game on top. Our offense that game worked inside out, the more we put the ball inside easier the shots opened up on the perimeter. Our defense was the biggest part of the game we thrived off of fast points and pushing the ball, it always helps when we can get a good rebound or stop to get the ball back in our hands.”

On Monday the Ladycats traveled to Black River High School to take on the Lady Pirates. In a tough matchup and low scoring game the Ladycats fought through the face guarding and double teams and pulled out the win. They defeated the Pirates 30-25.

Coach Eric Mitchell commented, “Tonight's game wasn't the prettiest of games by any stretch, but at this point of the season, winning games is all that matters. Ugly wins, are still wins. Obviously we wanted to play better, but sometimes you just survive and get out with the win and that is what we did. Defensively, our girls showed some grit and toughness that we haven't seen this season. We will able to disrupt their guards with our pressure, and I think that was the difference. This was the best defensive game that Kiaya Thierry has played. She was down, working her tail off at the top of our pressure. This is what we need to see out of every girl now. They proved tonight that they can do it. We struggled to score, and you have to give Black River some credit, their plan was to take Gabby and Kiaya out of the picture and they did a nice job. But we told the other girls that someone needed to step up, and I thought Lili Bartow and Korah Schmidt did a nice job getting us some big buckets when we needed them. We are playing better basketball overall, and any coach will tell you that this is when you want to be playing your best basketball. We just have to keep working hard at practice, and then go out and do the things we need to do to put us in a position to win on a nightly basis.”

Lilian Bartow led the team in scoring with eight points. Conrad had six, Schmidt five, Thierry four, Ledbetter three, and Marisa Molnar and Lexi Duggar with two.

Conrad added, “Tonight’s game at Black River was a battle, but it was one of the best defensive performances in a while we’ve had. Our shots weren’t falling, so we had to go in overtime on the defensive end, with our team’s capability to change up the defense we are dangerous. We just have to don’t stop and keep going.”

She said, “This streak is long awaited, it gives all of us a sense of confidence in the locker room. We all have each other’s back and it gives everyone that edge of let’s keep this thing going. We will never be satisfied and we’ll only want to keep getting better from each game, but to look back on some games, this streak will be a good stretch to look at. I think Colonel Crawford will be a challenge because nothing comes easy in the game of basketball. But we’ll keep our streak on our minds as we go to their place on Thursday; with our defensive efforts and a flowing offense, we will be a hard team to beat.”

Coach Mitchell stated, “Colonel Crawford is playing pretty good basketball. They get after you on defense, and really seem to try and control tempo offensively. This is a great late season test for us to see if we are ready for tournament basketball.”